Red Sox 13, Twins 1

 

Boston wins the series in Minneapolis, 2-1, and blow out the Twins in yesterday's third game of the series, 13-1. The series would have been a sweep, should have been a sweep, but for that momentum-busting 90-minute rain delay in Game 1 and Jordan Hicks' atrocious pitching in the bottom of the ninth. 

But that's water under the bridge, Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Yesterday, Story, Duran, González, and Yoshida all homered, and Bello went seven innings with only one run, a homer in the second. Talk about poring it on: the Sox led, 8-1, going into the ninth, but still scored another five runs and an RBI base hit and two homers,  including Yoshida's first of the season.

More 3-D chess move roster juggling: With Bello pitching, Connor Wong replaced Narváez as catcher. Yoshida replaced Roman Anthony as DH, so Anthony was moved to left field, Duran was moved from left to center, and Rafaela was moved from center to second. Tuesday's second baseman, David Hamilton, sat this one out. Bregman was also benched, so Toro was moved from 1st to 3rd, and González came off the bench to fill in for Toro at first. 

The Red Sox (59-51) are five games back in the AL East, one back from NY. They're 1½ ahead of Seattle in the Wild Card standings.  They're off today, but start a six-game home stand Friday starting with three against the Houston Astros (62-47). They'll play the Astros in Houston later in the month, and it will be interesting to see how Bregman fares against his old team, and then in front of his former fans.

30 More Days Until College Football

 

Yeva, Course-Corrected

It's a little over 200 miles across the Davis Strait from Greenland to Baffin Island, but for some reason after getting halfway across, the Yeva stopped sailing directly across and turned north. It could have been weather, sea ice, or a floating berg, or it could have been conditions so favorable for sailing that Captain Ella Hibbert decided to head directly into the Northwest Passage rather than hopscotch along the north coast of Baffin Island. 

Whatever the  reasons and motives, she's making good progress and heading into the heart of her adventure.   

Red Sox 8, Twins 5

 

Boston ties up the road series as the bats come alive. Eight out of nine Red Sox batters got at least one base hit, and Rafaella's triple allowed the team to collectively hit for the cycle. Story and Duran both hit homers. 

Giolito kept the Twins scoreless through six innings as the Sox took a 5-0 lead. The bullpen then started giving up some Minnesota runs, all to batter Brooks Lee for some reason, but Boston wasn't done scoring yet. When the smoke finally cleared, it was Red Sox 8, Brooks Lee 5.

Cora benched Yoshida for this game and moved Roman Anthony from left field to DH. Duran was moved from center to left, and Rafaella was moved from second to center. Hamilton, who sat out Monday except for a late-game pinch hit, took over second.  

Who knows what tonight's lineup will look like, but pitcher Brayan Bello (6-5, 3.32) will try to win the series for Boston against the Twin's Zebby Matthews (2-2, 4.97). In his last start against the Twins, the May 2 game when Tristan Casas went down for the season with a knee injury, Bello gave up only one run over 6.2 innings. Matthews, in only his second MLB season, has not faced the Sox this year.

Houston (61-47) is the next team on Boston's schedule, so we need to win this series this afternoon (1:30).

Twins 5, Red Sox 3

 

This one's really frustrating! Red Sox reportedly had a rough flight out to Minnesota that required the plane to stop in Detroit before an extremely turbulent resumption. At game time, several players were still reeling from the motion sickness. 

But despite the hiccups, an unintentional understatement, the Sox had a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, thanks to a three-run Bregman homer in the fifth and a Roman Anthony RBI single in the top of the 9th. But then, the turbulent weather struck again and a storm blew in, delaying the game. Ninety minutes later, play resumed but I had already gone to bed. 

When I got up this morning, I saw that Boston reliever Jordan Hicks gave up two runs for a walk-off Twins victory. He gave up a single to the first batter faced and then his pitches hit the next two batters, loading the bases. The Sox saved a run from scoring with a fielder's choice play to home plate on the next at bat, but the bases remained loaded. Hicks then gave up another single and two runs scored, giving the visiting Red Sox a loss.

Just do your job . . .  All you had to do was . . . arrgh! Too frustrating! Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

Lucas Giolito (6-2, 3.97) starts tonight. It will be his first time facing the Twins this season, but the Sox have won four of his last five starts so we should have a chance, so long as it doesn't rain or anything.

Yeva, Baffin Bound

 

After a full month along the southwest coast of Greenland, Ella Hibbert and the Yeva are finally at sea crossing the Davis Strait and heading toward Baffin Island, Canada The distance from Sisimiut, Greenland, Yeva's last post, to Cape Dyer, Baffin Island's easternmost point, is approximately 210 miles.  Hazards in the Davis Strait include sea ice, fishing boats and other ocean-going vessels, cold weather, storms, the Kraken, and of course, the edge of the world. 

Depending of factors ranging from wind to seas to rest intervals, it should take the Yeva about 40 hours to cross the Strait. That would put her in Canada sometime early Wednesday morning. 

Hibbert is attempting the first solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean in one season, a feat that shouldn't be possible if not for climate change and melting sea ice. She left Lerwick Harbor in Scotland's Shetland Islands on June 5, and arrived at her starting point at the Arctic Circle on June 10. However, big waves in the Norwegian Sea inundated the cabin, causing some salt-water corrosion problems that eventually killed her AIS tracking device and cabin heater. But from the starting point, she passed over the north side of Iceland, and then dipped down below the Arctic Circle to pass the southern tip of Greenland. She made several stops along the west coast of Greenland, working her way north and back up to the Arctic Circle, while repairing a cascading series of equipment problems, including replacing the AIS and the heater. She left Nuuk, the capital and logistical hub of Greenland, on July 21 and arrived at Sisimiut on the 26th, where she scrubbed the Yeva's hull of algae, refueled, and got a final rest before pushing off this morning.

Best wishes and safe passage to Hibbert and the Yeva.

Red Sox 4, Dodgers 3

 

That's the way you do it! The Boston Red Sox win the home series against the L.A. Dodgers, taking two games out of three, including this afternoon's 4-3 win. 

Walker Buehler was pulled in the fifth after striking out the first two batters but with 104 pitches. Brennan Bernardino came on in relief and promptly gave up a double and then walked a batter before getting the third out, but wound up getting the win for the game. 

The Sox took a one-run lead in the first with a Trevor Story sacrifice fly, but the fireworks were mostly in the fifth with a Roman Anthony triple and a two-run Alex Bregman homer, his 13th of the season.  

With today's win, the Sox are 57-50, one game back from second-place New York, and 6½ behind division-leading Toronto.  They're a half-game ahead of Seattle in the Wild Card standings.

The Sox are through one of the toughest stretches of their schedule this year. Since the All-Star Break, the team went 1-2 against the Chicago Cubs and 1-2 against the Phillies, and now 2-1 against the Dodgers.  After that grueling start to the second half of the season, the team is over .500 and in the Wild Card standings. 

We survived, so far, and get a slight break next with a three-game road trip to Minnesota (50-55) before returning home to host the Astros. Fitts (1-4, 4.86) will try to turn his season around with a start tomorrow against the Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.14). This will be the first time this year Boston batters face Richardson. 

We need to keep the momentum going and sweep those Twins in their home park.

Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2

 

In Crochet we trust. 

That trust was sorely tested when the game started with lead-off batter Shohei Ohtani homering 437 feet into deep center, and then the third batter, Teoscar Hernández, homering 399 feet into deep left. But Crochet settled down after that rocky start, getting ten strikeouts over six innings and picking up his 12th win of the season. Meanwhile, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw got only two K's and gave up four runs before getting pulled in the fifth with two outs and one on. In the Dodger's last at-bat in the game, Mookie Betts came in the game to pinch-hit for Hyeseong Kim, but Aroldis Chapman struck him out. The Red Sox won, and tied the homestand up at one game each.

Former Dodger Walker Buehler (6-6, 5.72) takes the mound this afternoon against his old team, and Dustin May (6-6, 4.73) will start for L.A. We'll see if Buehler knows his former teammates well enough after eight seasons in L.A. to lead Boston to a win in this series.

Dodgers 5, Red Sox 2

 

Try to stay positive, try to stay positive. Look at the good side, the half-full part of the glass. The Red Sox ended Ohtani's home-run streak, limiting him to 1-for-4 at the plate and striking him out twice. We didn't have to face Mookie Betts in Fenway for some reason. And the game was close, 3-2, Dodgers, for much of the game, until a Teoscar Hernández homer in the eighth finally broke the lead open.

Brayan Bello went 5.1 innings, striking out five and giving up three runs on six hits. The bullpen did pretty well, too, striking out another five and giving up two runs on four hits. But a win apparently was not to be, as the Boston bats went largely silent down the stretch.

The Dodgers are starting their veteran ace Clayton Kershaw (4-1, 3.27) tonight. The Dodgers lost his last two starts, however, so there's some hope. Most importantly, though, it's Crochet Day, and the Red Sox are starting our brightest hope, ace pitcher Garrett Crochet (11-4, 2.19), who's on track for a 20-win season. 

In Garrett we trust. Let's take this series back, Boston! 

Red Sox 9, Phillies 8

 

It took 11 innings, but the Red Sox avoided a sweep in Philly.

The game-winning hit was a two-run Carlos Narváez homer to deep left center in the 11th, but a Romy González grand-slam in the 5th brought the Sox back from a 0-5 deficit  to a 6-5 lead (the Jesus Lizard allowed two runs on walks earlier that inning).  The Phillies tied in back up in the eighth, but Trevor Story scored a run in the 10th, only to have only to have Kyle Schwarber tie it back up again in the bottom of that inning. Then came the Narváez homer in the 11th, and it was fortunate that it scored two runs, as the Philles were still able to score one, but only one, run in the bottom of the 11th.

The Red Sox are 2-4 since the All Star Break and are in third place in the AL East, six back from Baltimore and two behind New York. They're tied with Seattle in the Wild Card standings, a game and a half ahead of Tampa Bay and Texas.

They're off today, but on Friday start a weekend home stand against Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and the Dodgers (those guys). It just never gets easy. 

Phillies 4, Red Sox 1

 

Little Dickie Fitts gave up four runs in two innings, including a pair of home runs in the 2nd, as the Red Sox lose back-to-back games in Philadelphia and four of their last five. Fitts obviously stays in the lineup not to win games but just to give the other starters a day's rest.

Refsnyder homered in the fourth, but other than that it was a superb pitching performance by the Phillies' Cristopher Sánchez, who went the complete game giving up only one run on four hits and a dozen strikeouts. 

We're not even halfway through this tough, 15-game stretch of schedule that has the Sox playing the Cubs, the Phillies, the Dodgers, the Twins, and the Astros, and then we've got a four-day series in the Bronx next month (Yankees suck) as well as six games against the Orioles. With a stretch like that up ahead, there's no way Fitts fits into the rotation.

The pitching matchup is a little more equitable today - Giolito (6-2, 3.59) goes up against the Phillies' Jesús Luzardo (8-5, 4.29). With some batting to back him up, Lucas might be able to beat the Jesus Lizard and give us a chance to avoid the sweep.

Phillies 3, Red Sox 2

Boston gave this one away! Tied game, bottom of the tenth, the Red Sox load the bases up, and then Narváez brings the winning run home with a catcher's interference call. Now I've seen it all. 

Duran homered in the first and Buehler pitched seven full innings, giving up two runs on six hits with four K's. Chapman and Whitlock pitched two innings of shut-out relief and Story tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth. But in that 10th inning, Jordan Hicks loaded the bases with no outs, and then Phillies batter Max Kepler's bat touched catcher Narváez' glove, or Narváez' glove touched Kepler's bat, which put Kepler on base, advanced the runners, and brought the wining run home. The game ended on a walk-off error. Sheesh!

Game 2 of this road series is tomorrow night- Dick Fitts (1-3, 4.28) vs. Cristopher Sánchez (8-2, 2.50). Early line has Philly winning by 1½. 

  

40 Days and 40 Nights Until College Football Season

 

Look Who's Back at Sea!

 

After ten days in Nuuk, Ella Hibbert and the Yeva are finally back at sea once again.

They pulled into Nuuk on July 9 with a broken cabin heater and a dysfunctional AIS.  After five days, all the parts had arrived and Hibbert replaced the heater and completed the not-uncomplicated task of replacing the AIS. But after leaving Nuuk on July 15, she discovered that although the AIS was working, she was getting static interference on her VHF system, inhibiting navigation and rendering her voyage unsafe. So she made the gut-wrenching decision to turn back around and then spent five more days in Nuuk troubleshooting and replacing the VHF antenna high up on the Yeva's mast (it had been sharing the antenna with the AIS, the likely reason for the static interference). Yesterday, she took a little trial run up and down the Nuuk fjord to check out the equipment and make sure everything was functional.

All systems are apparently now working and as of this morning, they're back out at sea, pressing on in their goal of a single-season, solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean.   

Bon voyage, Yeva! We're cheering you on!

Red Sox 6, Cubs 1

 

Crochet power. The Red Sox snap a two-game losing streak and Crochet picks up his 11th win of the season. 

Wilyer Abreu hit a two-run homer in the seventh, but the big fireworks were in the eighth, when Bregman came off the bench to hit a three-run homer and then Abreu homered again to make it 6-1, Boston, and avoid the sweep. Crochet gave up one run on eight hits over six innings, striking out five.

It doesn't get any easier for the BoSox. Next, they go to the City of Brotherly Love for a three-game series against the Phillies (56-43). Walker Buehler (6-6, 6.12) will face Zack Wheeler (9-3, 2.36) in the opening game. Yikes!

Cubs 6, Red Sox 0

 

Psych! The Red Sox didn't start unknown Dominican pitcher Jose Bello yesterday like Yahoo Sports said, but Brayan Bello (of course). Not that it mattered - Brayan gave up three runs, reliever Chris Murphy three more, and the Cubs shut out the Sox, winning 6-0 for Boston's second straight loss after the All Star break. Boston gave up five of those six runs on solo homers.

After ending the first half of the season with three consecutive sweeps, let's see if we can avoid starting the second half by getting swept. This afternoon, the Sox will start Garrett Crochet (10-4, 2.23),. our most reliable pitcher, against the Cubs' Cade Horton (3-3, 4.45).  If the bats finally wake back up, we should have a chance at this.   

Cubs 4, Red Sox 1

 

First loss since July 2nd and the 10-game streak comes to an end. Giolito gave up a three-run homer in the first inning, and Boston was never able to catch back up, the end.

Tomorrow's another day. The Red Sox are allegedly going to start someone named Jose (not Brayan) Bello, an unknown, 20-year-old Dominican righty. The Cubs are starting Shoto Imanaga (6-3, 2.65). Let's see what happens. Game's at 7:00.    

Yeva, Asail Again

 

According to her online tracker, as of 10:00 am Greenland time, Capt. Ella Hibbert and the Yeva have left Nuuk and are once again at sea.

The Yeva pulled into Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, about five days ago, the shipboard AIS not working and the cabin's heater out. The parts had been shipped to Nuuk, about the only place in Greenland one can ship to in a reasonable amount of time, and once at port, Hibbert began the repairs and replacements. It took a couple of days to fix the heater, and then a few more for the AIS to arrive and get installed, but with everything now working and after waiting one additional day for a storm to pass, they're once again at sea. 

Her equipment problems began near the start of the voyage in the Norwegian Sea when a huge wave filled the Yeva's cabin with salt water. The water got inside of the heater and blocked its exhaust pipe and corroded the AIS terminals and electrical connections. It took a lot in DIY ingenuity and not a few tech-support calls to get everything back on line and working again but it appears that all systems are now operational and a "go" for the voyage to continue.  

Hibbert will cross the Davis Strait and sail past the north coast of Baffin Island. From there, she will sail the Northwest Passage to the Beaufort Sea in her attempt to complete the first solo single-season circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean.   

Update: For reasons as of yet unknown, she turned around and as of 4:00 pm Greenland time is back in port at Nuuk. Weather? Equipment?  We'll see!

Red Sox 4, Rays 1

We did it!!! We ended the first half of the 2025 MLB season on a 10-0 run and with three consecutive series sweeps! It's Boston's first 10-game streak since July 2018.

Trevor Story got the game-winning hit, a sixth-inning RBI single to left center that scored Roman Anthony. Ceddanne Rafaela put an exclamation point on the inning in the next at-bat with a homer, his 14th, into deep left center, over the Green Monster and bouncing off a tabletop in the front row, scoring Story. Brayan Bello (6-3, 3.14) gets the win, going 6.1 innings with one run on six hits and five strikeouts. 

More Cora 3-D chess moves: with Bello pitching, Wong replaced Narváez as catcher, Bregman was back in the lineup at third, Mayer was moved from third to second, Rafaela from second to center, Duran from center to left, and Anthony from left to right. He benched Abreu, used Yoshida again as DH, and replaced Toro at first with González. Shortstop Story played shortstop, the sole player in the same position as yesterday.

The Red Sox, who had seemed all but dead a mere two weeks ago, closer to last than first place, are now 53-45, a mere one game back from the despicable New York Yankees and 3½ back from first-place Toronto. They're second in the Wild Card standings, 1½ ahead of Seattle.

The Red Sox are off for the next four days for the All-Star break, but then boy howdy will they run the gauntlet after that - nine games over ten days against the Cubs (57-39), the Phillies (54-41), and the Dodgers (57-39). That'll test their new-found swagger as much as anything.

So over the next couple summer days, lift a cold one in tribute to the Red Sox, the hottest team right now in Major League Baseball. 

Red Sox 1, Rays 0

In baseball, a "Maddux" refers to a game where the pitcher goes the entire nine-inning game without allowing the opposing team to score and using fewer than 100 pitches. Today, the Red Sox' Garrett Crochet shut out the Tampa Bay Rays in a 1-0 win, their 9th straight win, going all nine innings in exactly 100. No relievers, which was a blessing after the team went six deep in the bullpen last night. Crochet gave up three hits, no runs, no walks, and nine strikeouts in his career-first complete game. 

The Sox' only run came in the fourth, when catcher Carlos Narváez singled to center, scoring Roman Anthony from second. Not much, but enough to win the game. Back on July 4th, when this current 9-0 streak began, I said the Sox had to work on those close, one- and two-run games, and after this game and the 5-4 and 4-3 wins in the previous two against the Rays, they've more than risen to my challenge.

Cora's 3-D chess game continued. He benched Bregman after only one game back from the DL - breaking him back in slowly - and DH'd Yoshida for the second game in a row. Roman Anthony played left field, Duran center, and Abreu right. Rafaela was moved from center to second and Mayer from second to third (Bregman was on third last night). It's anyone's guess what the field might look like tomorrow.

Can we sweep the Rays with a win tomorrow for the Sox' 10th straight and third consecutive sweep? If so, there'd be no better way to go into the All Star break than on a 10-0 streak. Tomorrow (1:35), Brayan Bello (5-3, 3.27) takes the mound against Ryan Pepoit (6-6, 3.32). Bello gave up 7 hits over 6 innings in his last start against the Rays, that 11-inning, 10-8, heartbreak loss on June 9 that I mentioned yesterday, so it's a chance for redemption. The day after that 10-8 loss, Pepoit struck out nine over five innings, so we have out work cut out for ourselves tomorrow, but we did win that June 10th game, 3-1, so there's that.

Red Sox 5, Rays 4

 

Ceddanne Rafaela for President! (I know he's not native-born, but don't ice my enthusiasm). Bottom of the ninth, one out, one on, and the Sox trailing by one, Rafaela, who had an RBI single in the first, steps to the plate and . . . blasts a two-run, walk-off homer 421 feet into deep left center! Red Sox win! Eighth straight victory! Boston improves to 51-45, moving up to third place in the AL East and second place in the AL Wild Card standings. 

Rejoice, Beantown, rejoice! The Sox will enter the All-Star break on no worse than an 8--2 streak, possibly 9-1 or better depending on the next two games. And Bregman's back in the lineup after six weeks on the DL! And Yoshida's back, too! And rookie sensation Roman Anthony's starting to come into form! We may never lose another game again!

Last night, Cora kept with Wednesday's outfield of Abreu, Rafaela, and Duran in right, center, and left, respectively. Yoshida was back in at DH again - it looks like Cora's going to be platooning him and Anthony in the DH spot for the time being. Anthony pinch-hit for Toro in the ninth and drew a walk, and Refsnyder came off the bench for Abreu in the eighth, only to strike out. 

Starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins had to leave the game in the second inning due to right knee pain. The Sox wound up using six relievers who collectively got six strike-outs and allowed six hits. This afternoon (4:10 pm), Crochet (9-4, 2.39) will start against the Rays' Shane Baz (8-4, 4.34). 

This will be the first time this season that Crochet faces the Rays. But in his last start at Fenway on June 9, a heart-breaking, 11-inning, 10-8 Red Sox loss, Baz went 5.1 innings, holding Boston to three runs on three hits (not all homers - he also walked three). 

Let's make it nine games in a row! Fuck it, let's make it three SWEEPS in a row!  

 

  

Fifty More Days Until College Football

Red Sox 4, Rays 3

 

We did it! Seven in a row, including this win over an AL East competitor! It took a three-run seventh inning, but the Sox rose to the challenge and got it done. The big takeaway is that at 50-45, the Sox are now officially in the Wild Card standings, knocking Seattle back by one game.  

Walker Buehler went six innings, giving up all three of the Rays' runs on two homers. Reliever Chris Murphy got the win, his first of the season. 

More juggling of the lineup. Despite going 3-for-4 on Wednesday, Cora sat Yoshida for last night's game and put Roman Anthony in as the DH. He kept Abreu in right field, but took Rafaella off the bench and put him in center field and moved Duran from center back to left. No one knows how the lineup's going to look tonight.

It's Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 4.10) tonight up against Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 2.82). A win would move Boston ahead of Tampa Bay in the standings, and into third place in the AL East.  

Red Sox 10, Rockies 2

 

Six straight win and second consecutive 10-2 blowout! Over that winning streak, the Sox have won the games by a cumulative score of 56-16. I love playing the worst teams in MLB. 

Macho Man Masataka Yoshida, finally off the DL and back in the lineup, went 3-for-4, including an RBI single into right center in the fourth, his batting average at a dizzying but temporary .750. To fit the DH into the lineup, Cora played the numbers game and went with the batting averages, benching Refsnyder (.256), putting Abreu (.260) into right field, and moving Anthony (.263) from right to left and Duran (.262) from left to center. We'll see how platooning the players works out, as I'd hate to see the Sox trading any of these guys.

Meanwhile, Narváez, Abreu, Duran, and González all homered last night, and Giolito got six strikeouts over six innings. 

Despite this win streak, the Sox are still in fourth place in the AL East, but are now a mere one one- thousandth of a percentage point, .521 to .522, behind Seattle for the last Wild-Card playoff spot. 

But all good things, including the stretch of schedule against the MLB cellar-dwellers, come to an end. Tonight, the Sox (49-45) host the Tampa Bay Rays (50-43), starting with the questionable Walker Buehler (6-6, 6.25) against the equally unreliable Taj Bradley (5-6, 4.79). However, Buehler is 2-0 so far this season against the Rays, while Bradley hasn't faced Boston yet this year. Between Buehler's odds, Yoshida back in the lineup, the outfielders all competing to stay in the lineup, and the home-field advantage, we may actually have a shot at beating the Rays and of going into the All-Star break on a positive note.        

Yeva, Nuuked

 

The word "Nuuked" looks like "nuked," which would be pretty negative, but in fact all is fine and well with Capt. Ella Hibbert and the Yeva, and they have safely arrived in Nuuk, Greenland. After spending three days recuperating and riding out a storm in the small port of Paamiut, the Yeva was back at sea yesterday and pulled into Nuuk this morning.

We can expect at least a day or two in Nuuk, as Hibbert (finally) installs the cabin heater that went out on her last month between Greenland and Iceland, and replaces the malfunctioning AIS box (assuming it's arrived in Nuuk by now). 

After repairs and replacements are complete, Hibbert intends to sail across the Davis Strait into Canadian waters and then past the north coast of Baffin Island.    

Red Sox 10, Rockies 2

 

Another blow-out win, and fifth straight victory for the Sox! Brayan Bello (5-3, 3.27) goes full Maddox and pitches nine complete innings, striking out ten and walking only one. Okay, he gave up a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, but then got outs on three of the net four batters, two of those on Ks. The Boston batters hit for the cycle, with Story, Duran, and Anthony singling, Rafaela doubling, González hitting a triple, and Story and Duran both homering in the seventh. 

At 48-45, the Sox are 6.5 games back from AL East-leading Toronto, exactly halfway between first and last place. They're one game back from qualifying for a playoff spot. 

Tonight, the Sox have a chance for completing back-to-back sweeps for the first time this season, with Giolito (5-1, 3.66) against somebody named Antonio Senzatela  (3-12, 6.57). But after tonight's finale with the Rockies, things will get tougher, with four games against Tampa Bay (49-43)  and then, after the All-Star break, road series at the Cubs (54-37) and the Phillies (53-39), and then back home to host the Dodgers (56-37). 

Yikes!       

Red Sox 9, Rockies 3

 

Four in a row! Someday, after all of these Nationals and Rockies games, we'll go back to playing professional MLB teams, but in the meantime I'm enjoying cosplaying as champions.

Roman Anthony homered, his second in the majors and first at Fenway. Rafaela and González both homered in the eighth. Meanwhile, Toro, Abreu, Duran, and Narváez all got RBI base hits. And li'l Dickie Fitts (1-3, 4.28) went 5.2 innings, struck out six, and got his first win of the season.

Four straight wins is nice, but the Sox are 6½ games back in the AL East, still closer to last place than first, and two games back from the last Wild Card spot.

But meanwhile, let's have some more Rockies! Tonight, Brayan Bello (4-3, 3.42) goes against the unfortunate Kyle Freeland (1-9, 5.49).   

Red Sox 6, Nats 4

 

The Boston Red Sox sweep the Washington Nationals! Hurray! That's three in a row and with the win, the team is now one game above .500!

In his Major League debut, Nats' pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara lasted only 2.2 innings and gave up four runs in the first inning alone, including a two-run homer to Trevor Story. Rafaela homered in the ninth, a solo shot that bookended the game with Boston home-run innings.

Crochet gets the win, his ninth, and struck out seven while only giving up two runs. 

The winning streak should continue. The Sox return to Fenway for a three-game home series against the Colorado Rockies (20-59). Tomorrow, Dick Fitts (0-3, 4.50) will try to get his first win of the season against the Rockies' Austin Gomber (0-1, 5.49). Expect a lot of hits on both sides.

Red Sox 10, Nats 3

 

The Sox return to .500! Hurray, we're merely mediocre once again! 

Seriously, though, another big-bat win. Rafaela hit the only homer, a 395-foot shot to deep left in the seven-run third inning. All the other runs were on RBI singles, doubles, a Jarren Duran triple, and one Washington fielding error. 

Buehler picks up his sixth win of the season, going five innings with two strikeouts. 

The Sox are still mired in fourth place, six back from New York and still closer to last place than first. They're two games back from qualifying for a wild card spot.

Tomorrow's game is at 1:35 - let's go for the sweep!   

Yeva, Well Rested

What little Arctic Sea ice remains plays a crucial role in stabilizing our climate. The potential "blue ocean event" is when the last remaining sea ice in the Arctic is lost, resulting in rapid warming of the water. Think of how a drink with ice cubes in it stays cold on a hot day, but once all the ice melts, it then heats up rapidly. 

Ella Hibbert's trip around the Arctic is not merely to set a record or for personal glorification, but to call attention to the diminished ice cover. She calls it "a trip that shouldn't be possible."

Shortly after leaving Qaqortoq yesterday, she piloted the Yeva northward along the western shore of Greenland. But, after only a few hours at sea and exhausted after the stressful days in Qaqortoq trying to repair her shipboard navigation equipment, she steered into a narrow fjord behind the uninhabited island of Nunarsuit for a good night's sleep. With a thick sea-fog cover creeping in, making navigation in the iceberg-filled waters challenging, she needed more alertness than her tired brain could provide and wisely reset her mental circuits before continuing on to Nuuk this morning.  

But meanwhile, economic concerns and nationalism continues to triumph over having a habitable planet. The US, Canada, Russia, and China are all building fleets of new ice-breaker ships to carve paths in what remains of the Arctic Sea ice in a mad dash to see who can establish dominance in the Arctic Sea. They each are trying to gain geopolitical leverage in the form of controlling shipping routes, access to minerals (oil/gas/rare earths) and establish military/naval power in the Arctic. That's the real reason behind the Stable Genius' threats to annex Greenland "one way or another" and talk of buying ice-breakers from Norway - he's aware of the strategic, if short-sighted, advantage in dominating the Arctic.

Update: As of 2:00 pm Eastern Time, Hibbert's tracker page shows she's pulled into the Greenland port of  Paamiut. The reasons are not yet known, but she's stated that there's no reason to rush to Nuuk as her replacement heater and AIS have not yet arrived. Reasons for the Paamiut stopover include additional sleep, or avoiding the fog cover or a storm forecast to hit western Greenland sometime this weekend.  

Red Sox 11, Nationals 2

 

You gotta admit - when the Red Sox win, they win by A LOT. We have to work on those close, one- or two-run games.

For all those runs, the only homer was a Trevor Story two-run blast to deep left in the eighth. All the other runs came off of RBI singles, doubles, and walks.

Giolito (5-1, 3.66) made seven strikeouts over 7.2 innings, giving up only one run and four hits. Tomorrow's game (4ish) will see Walker Buehler (5-6, 6.45) up against Mitchell Parker (5-8, 4.63).   

Yeva, Asea Again

A burlap hero, according to musician Nate Wooley, is a person who recognizes living as a heroic act, who marches, consciously or not, back to the sea in hopes of making no splash. A burlap hero is someone who understands and embraces the imperfection of existence and in that way stretches the definition of sainthood. Burlap heroes may be sailors or explorers, mountaineers or deep-forest hikers. They may be the occupants of sun-up barstools; the cubicle-planted; the ghosts of Greyhounds; or the reasonably sketchy.

Ella Hibbert is joining the illustrious ranks of burlap heroes, finally pulling out of port in Qaqortoq, Greenland, where she's been harbored since last weekend, to resume her solo Arctic Ocean circumnavigation. 

Complications: she pulled into Qaqortoq to repair her heater, kind of a necessity north of the Arctic Circle. Due to the location of the heater in her boat, the repair couldn't be done while at sea. But while troubleshooting the wiring, she managed to trigger a cascade of other electrical issues, her automatic identification system (AIS) - the tracking system that uses transceivers to both identify other vessels and to let other vessels identify her - wind instrument, depth sounder, and autopilot all failing at once. The alarms were blaring, the data gone, essential systems down, and the heater parts weren't even due for delivery to Nuuk, about 300 miles to the northwest, for several more days. But she couldn't safely sail to Nuuk to pick up the parts without any on-board navigation assistance.

After calls with a Raymarine tech and even a ChatGPT session for ideas, and with all the shipboard wiring exposed, she managed to get most of the instruments back online for about 10 minutes, only to have everything glitch back out again. 

After a cold and confusing day of crawling around the boat with wires exposed everywhere, she cleaned the electrical connections, replaced a fuse, swapped out a T-bone on the NMEA 2000 system (whatever that means), and miraculously the navigation equipment, exclusive of the AIS, is now back online again. The AIS seems to be permanently fried, so she'll pick up a new AIS box in addition to a heater in Nuuk (direct delivery to Qaqortoq is hopelessly time consuming to near impossible).

So our burlap hero is now off again, heading up the west coast of Greenland for Nuuk to pick up the heater and AIS parts. She confident sailing without AIS along the Greenland coast up to Nuuk now that she's got her depth sounder and other navigational equipment back on line, but the AIS is essential for the Northwest Passage. The chilly run up to Nuuk will be a good test of the other repairs, however, and (hopefully) build back some confidence in the Yeva's capabilities.

Reds 8, Red Sox 4

 

It's hard to win a game, even with a 3-0 lead, when Greg Weissert gives up a grand-slam home run in the seventh. 

Our starting pitchers depleted, we went with all relievers in this game, first with with Brennan Bernardino, who lasted only 1.2 innings before reaching his limit. But the strategy worked, at least at first, with the first three relievers giving up only three hits and recording five strikeouts before Weissert gave up the grand salami in the seventh.  

We were so close, just one game, to reaching .500, mediocrity, and then, bang!, a four-run blast in the seventh.

The Sox are off today, but will travel to D.C. to play the Nationals (36-50) on the Fourth of July (11:00 am).   

Red Sox 5, Reds 3

 

Back-to-back wins! Even a rain delay (this game started last night but didn't complete until this afternoon) can't stop this team. No one on the Red Sox homered, but all the runs were scored on RBI singles, doubles and a sac fly.

Boston will try for a sweep of the Reds tonight. A win will bring the team back to .500. 

Red Sox 13, Reds 6

 

Okay, I was wrong. About last night's game, I predicted "we're gonna fuckin' lose," and, well, we fuckin' won. Sometimes, it feels nice to be wrong.

It didn't hurt our chances that we scored seven runs in the first inning alone. Talk about batting practice! Reds starter Chase Burns gave up five hits, including one home run, and two walks before getting pulled with only one out. Abreu homered twice, including a grand slam in the 8th, and Duran homered in the sixth. Boston starter Crochet lasted six innings and made nine Reds strike out. 

So now Boston's had a 15-run game on Saturday and a 13-run game last night. The 28 runs are as many as the previous nine games combined. It's fun to capitalize on bad pitching, but we need to do better on those more frequent days when we face real major-league pitching.

The Red Sox are threatening to put Dick Fitts (0-3, 4.68) on the mound tonight against the Reds' Brady Singer (7-6, 4.31).          

60 More Days Until College Football